Everything outside may be going to hell, but Sunny Side of the Doc might be the non-fiction world’s only real happy place right now. Currently in its 35th year, the event is a testament to the resilience of documentary filmmaking, both in its ongoing support for reality-based storytelling in all its many forms but also its appreciation for the kind of support network that’s sorely lacking from feature film production. The emphasis here is firmly on problem-solving, and projects arrive in all possible states of production; some need money to get started, others just want buyers to get them out into the market. Some are as commercial as hell, others very niche, and the beauty of this event is that all are welcomed equally.
“It’s called Sunny Side of the Doc for a reason,” notes Aurélie Reman, who has been with the event for 11 years and last year became Managing Director. Optimism is the keyword, and it is certainly infectious; a panel on the potentially daunting subject of monetizing digital-only content proved surprisingly encouraging to an audience of delegates that are looking for ways to break free of traditional financing streams. Meaningless jargon is discouraged here, and Sunny Side’s attempts to accentuate the positive are as illuminating as the hot summer sun that pours down on the picturesque French fishing town of La Rochelle.
Deadline sat down with Reman to discuss this year’s edition.
DEADLINE: When do you start planning each new edition? Does it start immediately after the last one?
AURÉLIE REMAN: We have debriefing sessions right afterwards, in July, then we have a break. But in September we start preparing, thinking about key trends. I’ve organized an advisory committee, so we already have some anticipation on subjects and topics that we would like to explore for next year. This year’s central theme of new routes to storytelling was a way to start mapping up those new routes, being aware that we maybe have to differentiate the profiles of decision-makers or new financing sources, but that will be the next step next year. So, while we have identified some key topics, for me — being in my new role — I also wanted to better identify those pathways, whether you’re an independent producer, a distributor, or an emerging talent trying to succeed in the international markets. Those are, for me, the three pathways we want to keep on developing. It’s not about quantity. It’s about the quality of players we are able to attract.
DEADLINE: What were the key areas you identified this year?
REMAN: This year was really about redesigning the topic of innovation, whether in terms of storytelling forums, or in terms of how to finance documentaries today, and also, of course, in terms of talking about what can AI do for you, whether you’re a creator or a broadcaster. I really wanted this edition to be very pragmatic, especially because we know the difficulties that independent producers in particular are facing, in terms of lack of commissioning. But also on the other side, for broadcasters, there have been a lot of budget cuts, especially for public broadcasting. So, we really want to have a space where we can have those tough conversations, but we can also identify the common goals. And to do so, I think we need also to speak up, quite frankly, about how much money is actually on the table and think wisely about the best destination for factual content.
DEADLINE: Where do you get your intel from? Is it everybody in general, or do you lean on certain people?
REMAN: We can lean on some key organizations like in France, we’re lucky enough to have a lot of unions in terms of independent producers, but we do travel a lot, also attending other markets and forums. Yeah, that’s how we get the material. We run some surveys after each event as well to better understand what the actual needs of the market are, whether it’s on the financing side, but also in terms of topics which they’re curious of, but they don’t necessarily have the knowledge or the key contacts. So, it helps us to deliver programming that can lean into the anticipation of what’s coming but also be very realistic on the actual state of the market for documentaries.
DEADLINE: This year you announced a partnership with Latam Content Meeting. How do you decide on that kind of focus? Are you responding to a cultural need, or do people come to you asking for a platform? How does it reflect attendance?
REMAN: Just in terms of attendance, I think we are at 50/50 in terms of French and international, but 82% of attendees are European. At the same time, we allow ourselves to be exploring also some new documentary territories. And, for example, when we decided to collaborate with Latam Content Meeting in Brazil, it was after we had identified the fact that we received less projects coming from this region. So, it was first a question mark — it seemed like they’d stopped developing projects, or, for some reason, they didn’t reach us anymore. So, we discussed that with our partners. Because for me, the main condition is to explore whether or not we think the potential can become something more sustainable.
And in doing so, sometimes Sunny Side goes beyond. It’s not just about hosting a territory showcase; it’s about properly advising local public funding institutions. or even running mentoring programs on the field. And that’s what we did with Brazil. We also came up with a strong delegation of producers, some key representatives with money and also some channels and streamers who are getting used to the idea of international co-production, because we help them understand better what it actually meant from a European perspective. It doesn’t mean it’s the only way to do it, because we also have to adapt the model to those coming from Global South countries and territories to better understand their audiences. We try to build bridges. That’s the goal.
DEADLINE: AI is everywhere this year, but you haven’t gone overboard on the subject. How did you approach it?
REMAN: I think we really wanted it to be identified not just as a risk, or as a danger, or as a no-go, even though we know — and some channels have spoken up about this — the trust issue is very important, especially in today’s political and geopolitical context. But then it’s also a question of how do you redistribute the value of content creation? And so, people are saying, “OK, could we sell our content to AI generative tools?” Because that’s a new revenue stream that we had not identified, and we also have to consider it, yes. But then, by doing so, what kind of content will then be created? And I think we are all aware in our documentary community that we wouldn’t enter a model or process that would end up creating biased information, biased documentary, biased images, biased behaviors. And so, we all want to be accountable for the work we do, but it’s undeniable that in terms of cost of productions, that can also be a very big help. I often hear from AI professionals, or people actually working in the field, that we are actually quite late, and that our community also needs to understand that it’ll probably change the way we work, change the professions. I mean, it’s going faster.
DEADLINE: Do you find that things are moving faster now than perhaps you’re used to seeing?
REMAN: Yeah. And that’s why we had a panel conversation about digital first his year. Some of the key players we had on the panel have actually worked [in that field] for 11 years already. I don’t necessarily see our traditional documentary producer or broadcasters making it a priority, but that’s the idea. What do you do when you have fewer commissions and you still need to run your production company? That’s one of the key questions that we have been asking here at Sunny Side. But I also think we need to answer them collectively, because it’s not just a matter of what can producer do apart from distributors, it needs to recreate a new business model where we would share common interest. How much money do we need? How much money do we make?
But then it’s also about the ethics. And that’s why we also wanted to have a big strand dedicated to authenticity in storytelling, because changing the model will also require us to keep doors open from Global South territories and talents, making sure we do equitable international co-production, since co-production seems to be the solution and we are born as an international co-pro market and we want to remain that way. Then I guess the values behind it, and especially in that documentary community would need to be redefined. And I hope Sunny Side is a space to have these kinds of conversations as well. But we are very resilient. Even in my 11 years at Sunny Side, I’ve seen our community able to adapt. I’ve often heard the phrase “Adapt or die”. [Laughs.] That’s where I see things going. I would like us to be able to anticipate rather than react in our role as a marketplace event.
DEADLINE: Is there anything you brought in this year that you haven’t done before, or anything you’ve refined in a particular way?
REMAN: Yeah. Well, the Innovation Summit is new. The Archive Summit is new as well, with a special approach also on First Nations, with regard to the decolonization of archives — because with those new countries coming to the markets, they come with different problematics. And often for First Nation communities, or African countries, it has been about, first of all, decolonizing the audiovisual heritage. I think is very important, also, to be heard and understood in Europe, to find better ways to work also with those talents and support them in telling the stories on their own but knowing that they really want to reach global audiences as well. In terms of what’s new, the distribution side is probably something we highlighted, because they needed to be more visible, because their role has been changing and they really need to be identified as partners for creatives.
DEADLINE: What do you think entices people to come here to Sunny Side?
REMAN: Well, I’m going to repeat what I’ve heard these last few days. I know it’s difficult sometimes to reach La Rochelle, but once you’re here, people really feel that feelgood atmosphere. People are more laid back, it’s the last event of its kind in the season, and everyone finds even the channels and executives are much more accessible. That’s one thing. But we also want to maintain a human-sized market as well, so I’d rather keep things at around a bit more than 2,000 delegates by making sure we have the most relevant people. Also, because it’s great value to have, in France, a very international event that is able to attract professionals from overseas companies, and event that is focused on business. It’s a market, we’re not a festival, and we’ve done it for more than 35 years now, and it really distinguished us in terms of what we offer. The pitching sessions are strong, they really respond to what the market is looking for. We always manage to keep close to what the industry needs, and, as a result, we create a great community feel, I think.
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